GREENSBORO TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Presented to the residents of Greensboro, the City, the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project and other public bodies on May 25, 2006. iii Cover images courtesy of The News & Record, Lewis A. Brandon, III, Rachel Gold- stein, Kristi Parker, Laura Registrato and Matthew Spencer. iv GREENSBORO TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CONTENTS Introduction 2 Background 2 Findings and conclusions 6 Involved parties 6 Ku Klux Klan and National Socialist Party of America (Nazis) 6 Workers Viewpoint Organization (Communist Workers Party) 6 Greensboro Police Department 7 Federal law enforcement 12 Morningside Homes residents 12 Key issues 13 Violent language and provocation 13 Injustice in the justice system 15 City government and community response 18 Fear and silence 20 Grassroots organizing and connection to community concerns 21 Firearms 22 Racism 22 Consequences 24 Truth-seeking and resistance 25 Moving forward: Recommendations 28 Acknowledgement 29 Institutional reform 31 Criminal justice and civil remedies 36 Citizen transformation/engagement 37 The way forward 38 Acknowledgements 42 v COMMISSIONERS MUKTHA JOST, ROBERT PETERS, CYNTHIA BROWN, PATRICIA CLARK AND ANGELA LAWRENCE ARE SWORN IN AT CEREMONY ON JUNE 12, 2004. (NOT PICTURED, COMMISSIONERS MARK SILLS AND BARBARA WALKER.) (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEWS & RECORD) Introduction & Background INTRODUCTION The Mandate of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (GTRC) re- fl ects that, “There comes a time in the life of every community when it must look humbly and seriously into its past in order to provide the best possible foundation for moving into a future based on healing and hope.” We offer this report in our Mandateʼs spirit, acknowledging that healing, hope and reconciliation are long-term goals that must take place across what currently are deep divides of distrust and skep- ticism in our community. Our task was to examine the “context, causes, sequence and consequences,” and to make recommendations for community healing around the tragedy in Greensboro, N.C., on Nov. 3, 1979, which resulted in the deaths of fi ve anti-Klan demonstrators: César Vicente Cauce, 25; Michael Ronald Nathan, M.D., 32; William Evan Sampson, 31; Sandra Neely Smith, 28; and James Michael Waller, M.D., 36; and the wounding of demonstrators Paul Bermanzohn, Claire Butler, Tom Clark, Nelson Johnson, Rand Manzella, Don Pelles, Frankie Powell, Jim Wrenn; Klansman Harold Flowers, and news photographer David Dalton. Even though we looked at a much bigger picture than any court has painted or than any one group of people can tell, this is still a story that is necessarily limited in its scope and depth. We do believe, however, that our efforts have taken us some distance away from the half-truths, misunderstandings, myths and hurtful interpretations that have marked the story until now. We hope that our contribution to Greensboroʼs reckoning with its past – completed with the invaluable assistance of numerous participants and supporters in this community and elsewhere – will provide a solid foundation for the healing and hope that our Mandate foresees. BACKGROUND On Nov. 3, 1979, in the absence of a dissuasive police presence, a caravan of white su- premacists confronted demonstrators preparing for a “Death to the Klan” rally planned in the cityʼs black Morningside Homes public housing community by the Communist Workers Party (CWP), previously known as the Workers Viewpoint Organization (WVO). In addition to the fi ve demonstrators killed, at least ten others were wounded, and numerous residents and other witnesses were traumatized. Klan and Nazi mem- bers, some of whom were fi lmed by news cameras as they shot into the crowd, claimed self-defense and were twice acquitted of all criminal charges by all-white juries. After more than two decades, the two criminal trials, and a civil trial that found mem- 2 COMMISSIONERS MARK SILLS, MUKTHA JOST AND BARBARA WALKER LISTEN DURING A PUBLIC HEARING. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NEWS & RECORD) bers of the Greensboro Police Department jointly liable with Klan and Nazi members for the wrongful death of one victim, many in the Greensboro community still did not feel that justice had been served. For this reason, former members of the CWP joined with other community members and supporters to initiate the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project (GTCRP), launching a democratic process that engaged the community in nominating and selecting the seven members of this inde- pendent Commission, empaneled on June 12, 2004. We assessed the evidence gathered from the three trials, internal records from the Greensboro Police Department and federal law enforcement, newspaper and maga- zine articles, academic literature, and some 200 interviews and personal statements given in private and at our public hearings. The following pages summarize our fi nd- ings, conclusions and recommendations after nearly two years of investigative work and community engagement. The evidence and multiple interpretations that we have uncovered in our research reveal a richly complex story of how Nov. 3, 1979, happened and its meaning for the community. However, serious limitations in the resources available to us, as well as fear of and hostility toward our process, have restricted our ability to review all the evidence available. The truth we have found is necessarily imperfect because new facts might later come to light that would demand new or altered conclusions. Indeed it is our hope that others who come after us will continue to perfect the collective truth of this event. This is the very nature of scientifi c inquiry. While the facts of the incident are indeed complex, through rigorous review and impartial weighing of available evidence and corroboration, we have arrived at well-documented and sup- ported conclusions. We view this report as the beginning of a citizen effort toward investigation and dia- logue, rather than the end. 3 FIVE WHITE ROSES AT EACH PUBLIC HEARING SYMBOLIZED THE FIVE PEOPLE WHO DIED AS A RESULT OF THE VIOLENCE ON NOV. 3, 1979 Findings & — CESAR CAUCE, MICHAEL NATHAN, WILLIAM SAMPSON, SANDRA SMITH AND JAMES WALLER. (PHOTO BY KRISTI PARKER) Conclusions FIVE WHITE ROSES AT EACH PUBLIC HEARING SYMBOLIZED THE FIVE PEOPLE WHO DIED AS A RESULT OF THE VIOLENCE ON NOV. 3, 1979 Findings & — CESAR CAUCE, MICHAEL NATHAN, WILLIAM SAMPSON, SANDRA SMITH AND JAMES WALLER. (PHOTO BY KRISTI PARKER) Conclusions FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS INVOLVED PARTIES Ku Klux Klan and the National Socialist Party of America (Nazi) The Commission fi nds that on the morning of Nov. 3, 1979, members of the Klan/Nazi caravan headed for Greensboro with malicious intent. At a minimum, they planned to disrupt the parade and assault the demonstrators (by throwing eggs), violating the marchersʼ constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. Further, we believe there is suffi cient evidence to conclude that they intended to provoke a violent confronta- tion and that this was broadly understood among those present in the multiple plan- ning discussions. Those who left their cars to engage in violence did so willingly. More importantly, Klan and Nazi members have admitted since the event that they intentionally came prepared to use deadly force in order to be victorious in any vio- lence that occurred. But not all caravan members bear equal responsibility. We fi nd the heaviest burden of responsibility is on those (Roland Wood, Coleman Pridmore, Jack Fowler, David Matthews, and Jerry Paul Smith) who, after they returned to their cars and their path of exit was cleared, went to the trunk of the last car to retrieve weapons. They then fi red at demonstrators, fatally wounding Nathan, Waller, and Cauce when they were unarmed. They also wounded Bermanzohn, Wrenn, Powell, Clark, Manzella and Dal- ton when they were unarmed. The fourth fatality, Sandi Smith, was also unarmed, although she was in the vicinity of someone who was fi ring at the Klansmen and Nazis and could have been hit by someone returning fi re. Sampson had a handgun, and was fi ring it when he was fatally shot. Workers Viewpoint Organization (Communist Workers Party) We also fi nd that some, albeit lesser, responsibility must lie with the demonstrators who beat on the caravan cars as they passed. Some CWP members also brought guns to the rally and fi red them in the direction of the Nazi-Klan members. However, we fi nd that the CWP fi red after the Klan had fi red a minimum of two shots and perhaps as many as fi ve shots fi rst. FBI evidence indicated that 18 shots were fi red from loca- tions occupied by the CWP and demonstrators and 21 were fi red from locations oc- 6 cupied by the Nazi-Klan. However, we fi nd the multiple revisions by the FBI of its own testimony make it unreliable evidence. The Commission fi nds that the WVO leadership was very naïve about the level of danger posed by their rhetoric and the Klanʼs propensity for violence, and they even dismissed concerns raised by their own members. However, we also fi nd that this miscalculation was caused in part by the Greensboro Police Department, which did not inform either the WVO or Morningside residents about the Klanʼs plans and its coordination with other racist groups. Greensboro Police Department Despite the obvious and important roles of the above participants, the majority of commissioners fi nd the single most important element that contributed to the violent outcome of the confrontation was the absence of police.1 Hostility between the WVO and white supremacist groups ran high and was infl amed by violent language on both sides. Yet vocal expression of political disagreement is the lifeblood of a healthy de- mocracy. The two parties had met before in China Grove, N.C., in July 1979, ex- changed insults and jeers, brandished weapons, and yet no violence resulted.